Rockingham Landfill Gas Abatement Facility

Rockingham Landfill Gas Abatement Facility is an electricity generation from landfill gas project located at the Millar Road Landfill Facility in Baldivis, approximately 46km south of the Perth CBD and 12km from the regional centre of Rockingham in Western Australia. It was registered in August 2013 and covers an active municipal waste management site. The surrounding Swan Coastal Plain region is characterized by a mix of urban residential subdivisions, light industrial facilities, and remnant native coastal bushland.

Electricity generation from landfill gas projects operate by installing and maintaining a gas collection system to capture biogas, primarily methane, produced by the decomposition of legacy and non-legacy organic waste. Instead of allowing this potent greenhouse gas to vent into the atmosphere, the captured methane is combusted to power engines that generate grid-connected electricity. This process directly destroys the methane, which has a higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide, and earns carbon credits based on the volume of emissions avoided beyond baseline regulatory requirements.

The coastal Baldivis and Rockingham area experiences a Mediterranean climate characterized by hot, dry summers and distinct winter rainfall. Situated on the Swan Coastal Plain's Spearwood Dune System, the local environment is predominantly made up of highly leached, deep siliceous sandy soils over limestone. Because these sandy soils have a high filtration rate, managing and monitoring groundwater is a major priority for the landfill.

LMS Energy, recognized as Australia’s largest biogas-to-energy developer, acts as the primary proponent after taking over the project from earlier participants including AGL Energy. The gas collection facility was originally established to mitigate local odour complaints and safely reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to local government reports, methane harvesting at this facility captures tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually, converting it into enough renewable energy to power thousands of local homes.